Shoot-out in France

1 Syria

The USA have expanded the list of sanctions against Syria, the US Treasury Department announced. The sanctions list included 4 people with British and Syrian citizenship. The sanctions were imposed against 9 commercial structures and the Central Bank of Syria. On Tuesday, the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced that the US State Department is imposing sanctions against the wife of the President of Syria, Asma Assad, and several of her close relatives. The sanctions were also imposed against the head of the Syrian military intelligence, General Kefah Mulham.

2 France

The BFM TV reported that 3 policemen were killed in a shooting by a 48-years-old man in the French department of Puy-de-Dome. It was noted that an another policeman was injured. According to the BFM TV — the police had arrived after a call about a possible case of domestic violence. When they tried to approach the house — the 48-years-old man opened fire. The woman that was helped by the police managed to escape. The sources of the BFM TV in the French police reported that the attacker managed to escape from the crime scene. The police are working at the area. It was noted that the criminal set his own house on fire, which completely burned down. Later, the French Interior Minister announced on Twitter that the criminal was found dead.

3 Turkey — Libya

The Turkish parliament voted to extend the mandate of the Turkish troops in Libya. According to the decree of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, they will be able to serve in Libya for the next 18 months. The decree noted that the ceasefire regime in Libya is not fully respected. «It is very important to not allow the resumption of hostilities, and to adhere to the agreements under the UN flag. Otherwise, there will be a threat to Turkish interests» — the decree stated.

4 Somalia — The USA

The Somali news website ’Goobjoog News’ reported that the USA started to pull the US troops out from Somalia. It was noted that the first group of the US troops arrived aboard the landing ship ’Makin Island’, located off the coast of Somalia. It was noted that the transfer of the military personnel from the continent takes place with the support of the US marines, arrived on the US ships. The number of the soon to be pulled out US troops in Somalia is about 700. The ’Somali Guardian’ news agency reported that the bulk of the pulled troops will be deployed in the Camp Lemonnier Naval Expeditionary Base in Djibuti, the largest US base in Africa. Part of the US military will be delivered to Kenya, where some US facilities are located.

5 Armenia — Russia

The leader of the «Enlightened Armenia» political party and the head of the parliamentary faction of the same name, Edmon Marukyan, stated on Facebook that Armenia should sign a new security agreement with Russia, this time including a clause on the creation of a second military base in the Syunik region, on the border with Azerbaijan at the south of Armenia. «The security of the Syunik region should take a special place in the new agreement. In this regard, we consider it vital to begin negotiations on the deployment of a new Russian military base in the Syunik region. The military base will, on one hand, support the effective activities of the Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh, and on the other hand — it’d be a guarantor of the long-term peace and security in the region» — Marukyan explained and noted that ’’the experience of the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri is a guarantee of the effectiveness of such security method. For decades that military base ensured the security of the Armenian-Turkish border» — end of quote. In his opinion — «Such document can be a demonstration of the centuries-old friendship of our peoples, the protection of the common values, the fight against the threats such as the spread of terrorism, the militant rhetoric of the regional countries, the expansion of the military potential of neighboring countries and military-political groups».

6 Nagorno-Karabakh

The State Minister of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Grigory Martirosyan, stated in an interview to the RIA NEWS that the damage, caused to the economy of the country during the last conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, is comparable to the volume of the GDP over several years. «It mostly concerns such matters as agriculture and the energy sectors» — Martirosyan explained and added that after the recent military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the population of the unrecognized republic was «on the brink of a humanitarian crisis». It was noted that the damage, caused by the hostilities, mostly affected the infrastructure facilities and the private property of the citizens. Constantine Reztsov, specially for ANNA NEWS.